ZENITHBANK

Zenith Bank Plc is Nigeria's largest bank by market capitalisation and a consistently high-return franchise, delivering FY2025 group-level ROE of ~20% on a ₦31.5trn asset base with PAT of ₦1.04trn; at a current price of ₦120 the stock trades at ~0.95x book and ~4.7x earnings, a meaningful discount to our blended fair value range of ₦73.63–₦222.94 (base ₦143.46), suggesting the market is not yet fully pricing the quality of this franchise. The transition to a holding-company structure under new Chairman Engr. Mustafa Bello following Jim Ovia's retirement introduces modest governance uncertainty, but group-level financials remain the appropriate lens and the underlying bank subsidiary continues to demonstrate strong earnings power. Given the committee score's 'strong' overall rating, positive value and income signals, a street consensus 'Buy' with a ₦149.06 target, and a net dividend yield of ~8.3%, the risk/reward at current levels is compelling for a 12-month horizon.

Verdict published 2026-10-26 · fundamentals through FY2025 · reviewed as the data changes